Finding Your Next Mentor (made easy)

“How do I find a mentor?”

I get asked this at least 5 times per week.

The truth is, there is no one way to find a mentor. And mentors come in all shapes and sizes.

One of the biggest misconceptions most people make about finding a mentor, is that he or she needs to be someone that is a Fortune 50 CEO or some millionaire or billionaire.

This is far from the truth.

Here’s why:

• Billionaires/Millionaires/Fortune 50-500 CEO’s can’t relate to you. They are too far into the journey to be able to give you practical/tactical advice that you need to hear to help you level up
• By sheer virtue of their current position(s), they won’t even have the time to mentor you
• Being able to reach them will be difficult, too and almost a waste of your time.

Now don’t get me wrong, they are amazing people to model and aspire to be like… so long as you admire them for the right reasons.

The best mentors are often only 1-3 steps ahead of you. Here’s why:

• They were very recently where you are today, therefore..
• Their ability to empathize with you is extremely high
• They have the roadmap to where you want to go… more importantly…where you need to go next.
• If you put a destination into your Google Maps, think of your next mentor as the immediate next turn that you need to make.
• You can’t make it to turn 3, without first taking turn 1.

The best way to identify a mentor is to follow this simple framework:

• Take a current inventory of the areas where you have a deficit (let’s say it’s public speaking, or wanting to speak on stages.
• Next find someone who has been doing it for 1 to 3 years vs. trying to reach out to Tony Robbins or Jeff Bezos.
• And reach out to him or her by sharing a very thoughtful and sincere note on what you admire about them, along with thoughtful and intentional questions you can ask them.

The chances that this person reaches out to you are a lot higher than someone who is 15 years into their speaking career, constantly in high demand, and extremely hard to get in front of.

A while back Katie and I interviewed Elisa Garn, who is an absolute pro at identifying mentors — she has built an intentional network full of valuable people who have been instrumental in her professional and personal journey. She dished out some of the most practical advice I’ve heard in a long time on:

• How to identify mentors
• How you can reach out to them
• What you can say when reaching out to them
• Several out-of-the-box, yet highly effective strategies on how to find mentors
• And several other pearls of wisdom that I know you’ll find valuable

You can find it here

What people think motivation is:
Motivation -> Action -> Result

The truth about motivation:
Action -> Results -> Motivation

Motivation is helpful… but it’s not your answer. Action is. Nobody I know has ever “motivated” their way towards reaching their goal (unless it was a really small one). Why?

Because motivation is a very fleeting feeling, and it’s usually gone before anything of significance occurs.

The truth is, you must create your own motivation by first taking action, iterating on that action as needed, and then have the resiliency to rinse and repeat those actions until you get to where you want to be.

It’s helpful to track your progress, too, so that you remain ‘motivated.’

Each time you see micro-results that inch you closer to your overall goal, you’ll continue to stay motivated.